The farm crisis and the climate crisis are linked. Both are having devastating impacts on farmers and rural workers across the country, leading to the loss of family farms and deepening economic decline in rural areas. The coronavirus pandemic has made these disparities even worse.
We can’t address one crisis without the other. Both must be addressed together, and we can do this through a just transition in agriculture and a just recovery for the food system. This means transforming our current model of agriculture into one that is good for the climate. It means creating the conditions in which family farms can flourish. It also means building back different from the COVID-19 crisis in order to address the massive injustices and unsustainability of our food system. Pledge your support today for a just transition in agriculture!
A just transition in agriculture prioritizes the right to food and shifts economic and decision-making power back to food producers. Here are some things that a just transition in agriculture must do:
- Base farming on ecological principles, prioritizing family-scale farms with diverse kinds of production and reining in overproduction.
- Ensure food producers earn a fair livelihood through living wages for farmers and workers that bring “more hands onto the land.”
- Repair the disproportionate injustice done to, and recognize the leadership and solutions coming from, Black and Indigenous communities and communities of color.
- Root policies and programs in human rights, especially the human right to food, in order to democratize the food and agriculture system and rebalance power in the economy.
- Support policies that challenge the root causes of the climate and farm crises, not “false solutions” that propose technical fixes and maintain business as usual.
Show family farmers you want to get through the climate crisis and the farm crisis with them!
Learn more about the principles here: Confronting Climate Change and the Farm Crisis: A Call for a Just Transition